Page 45 of Defended by Bama (Royal Bastards MC: Mobile, Alabama #1)

Bama

A day had passed since we found Linny. Jackal’s Ol' Lady, Shiv, had come in with him once everything was secured. Linny was bruised up and it looked like she’d been raped, probably repeatedly, but she’d passed out from shock, not a concussion or anything with lasting effects.

The doc had used a lot of big words but assured me most of her physical injuries were superficial.

Still, they followed us back to the clubhouse, and we made sure to get her inside without Sofie seeing.

Once she was cleaned up and Shiv checked her over a few times, I finally sat down with Sofie and told her that her mommy and Glenda had an accident, but they’d both be fine. I hoped the last part was true.

“Is Mommy going to be okay?”

I crouched down and held her small hand. “She will. And neither of you ever have to be scared of your dad again.”

“Bama?”

“Yeah, sweet girl?”

“I know we said one time that you’d just be Bama, but do you think–”

“I’d love to be your daddy, Sofie.”

She grinned, then flung her tiny body at me, nearly knocking me down. I hated to break up the moment, but I needed to check in with Hammer and then pop my head back in to check on Linny. After a few good seconds of hugging, I took her back to Allie.

Glenda was still at the clinic, not doing as well, but still holding on.

But I had to tell Sofie something, and Linny had plenty of cuts and bruises on her face, so I had to come up with something to tell Sofie.

She seemed satisfied with just an accident and didn’t ask questions.

I couldn’t keep her in the dark and let her worry, but I told her she could see her for a minute once and didn’t send her to school that day in case Linny woke up and wanted to see her.

Shiv was tending to Linny, so I went to touch base with Jackal in the casino room.

“Hey, man. How’s your Ol' Lady?” he asked.

“Good I think. I appreciate you guys coming.”

He waved me off. “She loves this shit. Adrenaline junkie.”

“She picked the right guy then,” I laughed, pulling up a seat.

“Yeah. I tried to talk her out of being with me, but she was very persuasive,” he said.

“She seems like a good one, but definitely has a strong personality,” I answered.

“All the best ones do.”

Nodding, I thought about how timid Linny had seemed at first, and how strong she’d become. “You’re right there.”

“So, y’all take care of your little problem?”

Leaning in my chair, I said, “Well, word has it, some cop made a deal with the Scorpions. Deal went bad, and a shootout ensued. Everyone died.”

“Oh yeah. Scorpion bullet take out the cop?”

I nodded, recalling how a blade to his side took him down.

Hammer had been clear; it had to look like a deal gone bad, but I needed at least one personal touch to get vengeance.

Not just for me, but my girls, too. Once he was down from the initial stab, I jerked his pants down, then used that same knife to cut his balls off, then stuffed his own sac in his mouth.

We made sure to also have a bullet from one of the Scorpions guns take a shot at him and his SUV. Then, I wiped my prints from the knife handle and put it in the hands of a Bloody Scorpion.

They had a large sum of cash on them, and to be safe, we took the cell phone we found on the cop.

He left his real phone at home, but had a burner that Breaker got into.

It seemed most of the deal was handled offline, but there was a call the day before, right around the time they had to have been at my place.

“I need to go find Hammer. But make yourself at home, Jackal.”

He held up a beer, then went back to watching a baseball game on the TV behind the bar.

Walking through the hall, I headed to Hammer’s office and knocked.

“Come in.”

“Hey, Prez.”

He waved me in. Rogers was sitting in one of the chairs across from Hammer, so I took the other.

“How’s Linny?”

“Shiv says she’s more or less sleeping it off but that she’ll pull through.”

Hammer nodded. “That’s good. Leigh said Glenda is in a coma.”

My heart fell. “Do they think she’ll be alright?”

“Hard to say, but Sam’s gonna do his best. He asked if he needed to come by. I told him maybe later or tomorrow.”

“Can’t hurt. But Shiv seems to have it under control.”

Rogers leaned up. “We got this little issue handled for now, but we don’t know if that was all the Scorpions in the area. And we need to address what the cop said.”

He told us he left evidence of wrongdoing that would lead to us. “He could have been talking shit.”

“True,” Hammer said, “but we need to know. I got a call in to a buddy up there in Georgia. He’ll try to check it out for us.

And we definitely gotta tighten up around here.

I’d love to think we stamped out that crew, but knowing the Bloody Scorpions, there’s probably double those numbers lurking around nearby. ”

“You’re probably right. Maybe we should setup some patrols?”

Hammer nodded. “Maybe.”

“Just let me know your orders, Prez,” I said.

A knock came on the door.

“Come in,” Hammer said.

We all turned, and it was Allie. “She’s awake. And she’s asking for you.”

I jumped up and ran to the door. Rushing past, I stopped then turned back grabbing Allie in a hug. “I’m sorry for being a dick.”

She wrapped her arms around me. “You know I can’t stay mad at you.”

I pulled back. “You hit me.”

“Barely.”

Chuckling, I pulled her back against my chest. “Seriously, I’m sorry. But hey,” I said, leaning back again to look down at her. “Until we confirm that cop didn’t leave a trail, I need you to stay here.”

“See. Now how hard was that? If you’d just told me that before, I wouldn’t have thrown a fit.”

My brow raised.

“Okay, I’d still be pissed, but it wouldn’t have been as dramatic. Happy?”

“It’ll do. Love you, sis.”

“Love you, brother. Now go.”

Letting her go, I ran to the room Linny was resting in and flung the door open.

Shiv’s brow shot up and she turned around. “Rude. Can you knock?”

“Sorry,” I said as I walked to the bed, kneeling next to it and grabbing Linny’s hand.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“Her throat will be a little crackly for a few days but no permanent damage to her windpipe. Just don’t be yelling and have plenty of fluids.

But you can eat whatever is comfortable.

” She turned to me. “She needs to eat, so I expect you to be sure she does. Jackal and I need to get back to Georgia.”

“Thank you, doc.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll leave you two alone.”

Once the door closed, I pulled her hand to my face, kissing it before putting her palm to my cheek. “I love you so much. I’m so sorry, Linny.”

“Hey,” she said, pressing her hand to my cheek. “I’m okay.”

Looking her over, I knew that wasn’t true. “This never should have happened. I failed you.”

“He’s crazy. He would’ve found a way no matter what you did. This wasn't your fault,” she said. “Although I wish you had just told me you saw him.”

Sighing, I said, “I know I fucked up. I’m learning as we go, Linny. And I thought it was best to keep you in the dark. I didn’t want to scare you.”

“I figured. Or club business. Marshall said those other guys were your enemies.”

Nodding, I said, “Guess so. And it was club business. But you’re my Ol' Lady. From now on, I won’t hide things like that from you. But you never have to worry about him again. I know that for a fact. Don’t worry about the other guys. We already have plans for them.”

She stared at the ceiling and a tear rolled from her eye, down her temple. I reached over, wiping it away.

Her chest jerked as more tears came. “I just wish Ollie and Glenda…”

Leaning up so I could cup her cheek, I moved her face to look at me. “Hey, Ollie vowed to protect you, and he died trying to do just that. And Glenda’s tough. She’s struggling, but she’s fighting.”

Her eyes lit up. “She’s not dead?” Her lip trembled and her other hand went to my face. “I could have sworn–”

“She’s hanging in there. Leigh’s staying with her and keeping us updated.”

“Oh shit. If she wakes up, she may kill him,” she joked through her tears.

Leaning over, I pressed my lips to hers. “I love you, Linny. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. I mean it.”

“Nobody can ever hurt me more than I love you, Bama.”

“And nobody can ever love anyone more than I love you, Linny.”